


Skating Away

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-12
Updated: 2003-12-12
Packaged: 2019-05-30 20:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15103925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of theWest Wing Fanfiction Central, a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in theannouncement post.





	Skating Away

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Skating Away (on the thin ice of a new day)**

**by:** pung

**Character(s):** Leo, Jordan  
**Pairing(s):** Leo/Jordan  
**Category(s):** Romance, Post-Episode  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer(s):** All characters except Hannah are the creation of Aaron Sorkin. I'm borrowing most of the ingredients and bringing back a Half-Baked Alaska.  
**Summary:** A continuation of " _Hartsfield Landing_ " Follows: "Of Brave Soldiers"  
**Author's Note:** All character's but Hannah are Aaron Sorkin's. Taking place the evening (or early morning) after _"Hartsfield's Landing"_

"Meanwhile, back in the year One..."

Jordan could always tell when Leo was calling from his cell phone. He kept conversation impersonal, and to a minimum, never saying his name, or hers.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I just left the office. Are you free?"

"Yes. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat."

"O.K. How long?"

"Ten minutes."

"See you then."

Jordan had returned from work intent on trying to put the strain of the day behind her. She had been watching the news, and had come to the conclusion that he would be tied up all night, so his call had lifted her spirits. She was already dressed in her silk pajamas, so she added a robe and went down to the kitchen.

She decided on a stir-fry of vegetables and fresh chicken. Cleo meowed at her feet as she sliced and diced, and by the time the doorbell rang, she had everything laid out, ready to go in the wok.

He smiled when she opened the door, but true to his nature, he did not touch her until the door was closed and they had walked into the kitchen. Then he held her a long moment, his face buried in her neck.

"Hmmm." he said, "you smell good..."

"Take off your coat and get comfortable," she said, going back to the stove. "There's decaf in the pot."

"Is there still some ginger ale left?"

"In the fridge. Help yourself."

He fixed himself a glass, and sat down at the breakfast nook, loosening his tie. "How was your day in court?" he asked.

"I made my motion to exclude the evidence."

"Think you have a shot?"

"It's fifty-fifty. But if he doesn't grant it, I have grounds for appeal later on. How was your day?"

"Actually, pretty good."

"Hartsfield's Landing?"

"Still up in the air...and no, I don't want to put on the news."

"No complaints from me on that point." She looked up from stirring the chicken in the wok. He looks so tired, she thought. Perhaps tonight I should just put him to bed. It had been more than a week since they had been able to be together, and she wanted desperately to make love with him, but just having him in her bed would be enough to hold off the demons that had been stirred up that evening. 

She set a place before him as they talked of banal things, and when the food was ready, she served him at the table, and then sat across from him, drinking her wine and watching him tuck in.

"THIS is great." he said.

"Thank you. I've become a master at the quickie meal." Cleo jumped in his lap, and stuck her head up over the edge of the table. Leo laughed and pushed her off gently, then held out a piece of chicken to her. "You are spoiling that big fat thing. She's not supposed to beg at the table."

"I know. But she's been so good about my taking her place in your bed, I have to stay on her good side."

"You look tired, Leo."

"I am tired, so it fits. I feel O.K., really. Some stuff...I don't know how to put it...got resolved tonight."

"Toby and the President?"

"That was part of it, how did you..."

"Toby's got bags under his eyes a fleet of bellhops couldn't carry." Leo laughed at that, and she continued. "You've got a pretty impressive set of samsonite yourself there, Chief."

"That's the second time you've mentioned my looking tired. Why?"

"I'm just thinking...if you want to just...go to sleep tonight..."

He smiled wordlessly at her-a private smile-the one that always made her blush. As she did now. He put his fork down, and pushed himself away from the table. "Come over here." he said softly. She did as he asked, but instead of sitting in his lap, she straddled him, hooking her feet behind the chair legs. His hands came up to stroke her hair, and she put her arms around his shoulders. He kissed her gently, and then held her face between his hands.

"I know it's been crazy, trying to find time for each other. We don't get to be together as often as we'd like...but when I'm here...it's not just about making love. You know that, don't you?"

She nodded wordlessly. He continued.

"I care about you. I want to hear about your day. I want to tell you as much about mine as I can. Maybe it's because we don't see each other that often, but I sometimes feel...like that seventeen year old wallflower is still in there somewhere, holding back." 

"I don't mean to."

"I know that. I'm sure there are times when I seem distant...but that isn't about you. We just need to relax and trust the moment." He smiled up at her. "We're skating away."

"What?"

"Skating away on the thin ice of a new day. It's an old rock and roll song. Jethro Tull."

"Oh, great!" she said laughing, "I quote Walt Whitman to you, you quote Ian Anderson to me!"

"The lyrics have a great message! I'll send it to you tomorrow. As for tonight..." 

His hands came up and began to undo her pajama top. She ran her fingers thru his hair and drew him into the opening he created. His mouth undid her, his hands followed suite, and she could feel him hardening beneath her. She wiggled in his lap, and his hands reached up to clasp her face again, drawing her down to his kiss. They stayed locked there for a minute, and finally she pulled away from him and stood up, taking his hands. 

"Come upstairs." she whispered.

"What about the dishes?"

"Cleo will take care of them. Come on."

The passion of two people, each with their one histories, speaks of that history without words. If in clasping him tightly, Jordan was holding on to that which was lost long ago, Leo knew enough to accept that. And if Leo's attentions to her spoke of what he had let slip away, she forgave him.

He was true to his word. The next day, he sent her the song he had spoken of. She downloaded it to her laptop and listened to it, thinking he may not be Whitman but Ian Anderson was a poet just the same.

"You were breed for humanity, and sold to society

one day you'll wake up in the present day

A million generations removed from expectations of being who you really want to be

__

Skating Away  
Skating Away  
Skating Away on the thin ice of a new day  
So, as you push off from the shore, won't you turn your head once more  
and make your peace with everyone?  
But those who choose to stay will live just one more day  
to do the things they should have done.  
And as you cross the wilderness, suspended in your emptiness  
you feel half afraid.  
Looking for a sign that the Universal Mind  
has written you into the Passion Play.  
Well, do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real  
and in the present tense?  
Or that everybody's on the stage, and it seems like  
you're the only person sitting in the audience?  
Skating Away  
Skating Away  
Skating Away..."

**The Next Story in the Series:** "Conversations, Part 1" 


End file.
